There are lots of reasons to love this sleeper hit

The show has become TV's most watched hospital drama.
By VIRGINIA ROHAN
THE (BERGEN COUNTY, N.J.) RECORD
Like most sleeper hits, "Grey's Anatomy" seemed to come out of nowhere.
One minute, we were watching the closing credits of "Desperate Housewives," and the next, there they were -- two naked strangers, the morning after an anonymous sexual encounter.
Thinking this a one-night stand, the pretty young woman pulled the blanket off the gorgeous sleeping guy and tried to dismiss him, saying, "I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower, and when I come back, you won't be here."
Surprise.
That feisty female, surgical intern Meredith Grey, soon discovered that the dark-haired mystery man was neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd -- her new boss at Seattle Grace Hospital. And before that first hour was over, millions of viewers were wrapped up in the lives of these two and their colorful colleagues.
Delicious dramedy
Since its stealth debut in March, ABC's midseason hospital series has evolved into Sunday night's most delicious dramedy, grabbing splashy magazine covers, along with dollops of praise -- and buzz. Initially, some number crunchers argued that it was riding the tails of the Wisteria Lane gang. But this fall, "Grey's Anatomy" has displaced "Housewives" as the show to rehash around water coolers on Mondays.
Created by Shonda Rhimes -- a 35-year-old screenwriter whose eclectic screen credits include "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," Britney Spears' "Crossroads" and "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" -- "Grey's Anatomy" is averaging 17.9 million viewers, supplanting NBC's "ER" (with 13.4 million viewers) as TV's most watched hospital drama. And two weeks ago, ABC gave the series its ultimate vote of confidence, announcing it will get the prized spot after the Super Bowl in February.
Top five
There are many reasons to love "Grey's Anatomy." Here are the top five.
1. Dr. Meredith Grey: Ellen Pompeo is a fresh TV presence, having mostly done films ("Moonlight Mile"). The 36-year-old Boston native is completely convincing as the title character and narrator: a sleep-deprived first-year surgical intern carting around heavy emotional baggage. Meredith's mom, Dr. Ellis Grey, was once a top surgeon and legendary figure at Seattle Grace. But now, she suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is in a nursing home -- which Meredith's friends only recently learned.
2. Dr. McDreamy: Not since George Clooney romped the halls of "ER" has TV seen such a scrubs-bedecked heartthrob.
Patrick Dempsey, who plays Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd, has been kicking around since the late '80s (and in movies like "Can't Buy Me Love"), but he's reinvented himself with this character, who's sexy, gifted and compassionate.
3. Sandra Oh: The actress rather than the character gets top billing here, because Oh is superb in whatever she's in ("Arli$$," "Under the Tuscan Sun," "Sideways").
Her fiercely competitive, socially awkward Cristina Yang is often hilarious. Never more so than when the surgical intern verbally re-created a porn movie for a patient as pain management. ("OK. So. There were these women. Nurses. Three nurses. And they were ... naughty. They were really, really naughty. They were three naughty nurses. ...")
4. "The Nazi": When have we ever seen anyone quite like senior resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson, "Caroline, or Change")? Keen-eyed and sharp-tongued, she's responsible for training the interns and knows everything that's going on. She has no qualms about telling off anybody, even a superior. ("McDreamy, go sit by someone who cares.") Occasionally, though, her softer side pokes through.
5. The other interns: Everyone is vivid and well drawn: George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), the sweet-faced, sensitive guy who's secretly in love with roommate Meredith; Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), the underwear model turned aspiring surgeon; and bad-boy Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), Izzie's crush, whose callous behavior masks a basic decency.